Boys Basketball: Jimmy Rasmussen buzzer-beater sends Geneva past Glenbard West to regional title

GENEVA – After Geneva’s Jimmy Rasmussen canned four 3-pointers in the first half of the Class 4A regional championship at Geneva on Feb. 24, Glenbard West adjusted its defense in the second half to make it harder for the senior to get open looks.

The strategy paid off. Rasmussen sank only one trey in the second half, but it was the most critical Vikings basket of the night.

Rasmussen’s shot from the left corner swished the net as time expired and gave Geneva a 43-42 win and a regional crown.

Geneva advances to the Bartlett Sectional and will face DuKane Conference rival Wheaton Warrenville South in the second semifinal on Wednesday. The Tigers beat the Vikings twice in regular-season play.

“It just kind of happened like that,” Rasmussen, who scored a game-high 17 points, said about taking the game-winning shot. “We always talk about passing it once more to the open man and it just happened to be me.”

It was the Vikings’ second attempt in the waning seconds to avoid a loss. Tommy Diamond’s game-tying shot attempt was blocked by Glenbard West’s Logan Brown, but Geneva got the ball back with five seconds to go on Diamond’s rebound.

Diamond finished with 11 points.

Geneva (23-9) led the game on its home court until the end of the third quarter when a 3-point buzzer-beater by Glenbard West’s Benji Zander, who scored nine points, put the Hilltoppers in front 30-28.

The trey from the top of the key ended a Glenbard West rally. Geneva, which managed only five points in the third quarter, had a 23-14 halftime advantage.

“At halftime, we made some adjustments and we put ourselves in a position to win the game,” Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said. “The major lesson we want to learn after this is sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and the other team makes a play.”

Glenbard West (19-13) extended its lead to 38-33 on a Jack Oberhofer putback and free throw with 4:47 left to play. Oberhofer, a senior who led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 15 points, twice made clutch free throw to keep his team in front. Oberhofer’s last two free throws with 1:23 left put Glenbard West ahead 41-38.

Tanner Dixon also had a hand in Geneva’s dramatic win. The senior connected on two free throws with 57 seconds left to play that pulled his team within a point at 41-40 with 25 seconds remaining. Dixon also snared Zander’s missed free throw that set up Diamond’s shot.

“I thought our execution during the last four minutes was really good. When we went back door to Jummy, their best athlete made a block,” Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. “I thought our players did a great job of staying with the game plan even when we weren’t making shots in the second half.”

Glenbard West, the defending Class 4A state champion, made a good showing this year, Opoka said.

“After winning the state championship last year and everybody not thinking that we were going to be anything this year, I think that these seniors and juniors showed everybody that we can play with anybody,” Opoka said.